I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

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Yoshimura Torataro pondered for a moment, then nodded:

"Hmm... let's rest for a while then."

Upon hearing this, everyone present felt a great sense of relief and collapsed to the ground in a chaotic manner.

"Hey, do you have any water?"

"It's all gone."

"I'm so thirsty..."

"Ugh... I'm so hungry..."

Yoshimura Torataro casually found a flat rock and sat down with a dejected look on his face.

Suddenly, Matsumoto Keido's voice rang out from beside him:

"Yoshimura-kun, I have a little water left... please take it and drink it."

Holding an old gourd, Matsumoto Keido limped toward Yoshimura Torataro.

Although he suffered a crushing defeat, losing even his underwear, fortunately, his two closest confidants, Fujimoto Tesseki and Matsumoto Keido, were still alive.

Yoshimura Torataro glanced at Matsumoto Keido's dry, pale lips and gently shook his head:

"No, I'm not thirsty yet. You can have it yourself."

"No, no, this won't do! Yoshimura-kun, please don't refuse, drink up!"

The two of them went back and forth, repeatedly declining the offer.

In the end, Matsumoto Keido could not persuade Yoshimura Torataro otherwise.

He licked his lips hard, then his eyes gleamed, and he gulped down the last few mouthfuls of water left in the pot.

His ferocious, whale-like drinking style suggested that even if Lake Baikal were placed before him, he could still drink it all up.

While the other person was drinking water, Yoshimura Torataro asked:

"Matsumoto-kun, how many men do we have left?"

Just as he finished speaking, Matsumoto Keido put down his empty gourd.

"Including the two of us, there are only 86 people left who can move around freely..."

Despite having prepared himself mentally, Yoshimura Torataro still felt his heart tremble when he heard the jarring numbers.

In just half a day, only 86 men remained of the original 3,000-strong army…

Basically... no, they were completely wiped out!

Yoshimura Torataro closed his eyes in pain, looked up at the sky, and took several deep breaths.

He looked as if he was trying to hold back his tears, forcing them to flow back.

Matsumoto Keido hesitated for a moment, then stammered, "..."

"Yoshimura-kun... what... what should we do next?"

"..."

Yoshimura remained silent, offering no response for a long time.

Just then, a loud shout came from not far away.

"What do you mean, what to do? Need I say more? Of course, we fight to the very end!"

Yoshimura Torataro suddenly opened his eyes and turned to look at the person who had spoken.

The newcomer was a burly man with messy hair and dark skin, who appeared to be about 35 years old.

This man's name is Nasu Shingo, a native of Tosa.

If one were to describe this man in a few words—in the eyes of those who uphold righteousness, he is truly an outstanding warrior!

Whether it was a sword, a spear, or a cannon, he wielded them with unparalleled skill.

He admired the idea of respecting and suppressing the enemy, and in his early years he joined Takechi Hanpeita's Tosa loyalist party.

Legend has it that he participated in the assassination of Yoshida Toyo.

Yoshida Toyo – a former councilor of the Tosa Domain, he vigorously promoted the modernization reforms of the Tosa Domain and was considered a very talented and visionary person.

On a rainy night in April of the second year of Wenjiu (1862), he was assassinated on his way home.

The true culprit behind Yoshida Toyo's death remains undetermined.

However, based on the theory that "whoever benefits the most is the murderer"... the murderer is undoubtedly Takeshi Hanpeita!

Yoshida Toyo, whose political stance leans towards supporting the shogunate, has always been at odds with Takechi Hanpeita.

Under Yoshida Toyo's suppression, Takechi Hanpeita never had a chance to rise to prominence.

Therefore, Takeichi Hanpeita assigned Nasu Shingo and others to cruelly murder Yoshida Toyo, clearing the way for his own promotion.

It is said that after killing Yoshida Toyo, in order to avoid causing trouble for the organization, Nasu Shingo and others withdrew from the Tosa Loyalist Party under the arrangement of Takeichi Hanpeita, and escaped from the Tosa Domain, becoming a ronin who broke away from the domain.

After several twists and turns, he is now a member of the Heavenly Punishment Group.

Because of his outstanding strength and considerable reputation, Shingo Nasu was appointed as the military supervisor within the Tenchu Group.

Nasu Shingo swaggered up to Yoshimura Torataro and said in a deep, muffled voice:

"Yoshimura-kun, have you forgotten our ideals?"

Why have we gathered here?

"Isn't it all about rebelling against the shogunate and realizing the great cause of honoring the emperor and expelling the barbarians?"

"Could it be that such a small setback has completely demoralized you?"

"Even if this is a battle we are destined to lose, we will fight to the very end! Let us demonstrate the heroic spirit of those who uphold righteousness!"

As Shingo Nasu finished speaking, a meaningful light gradually appeared in Torataro Yoshimura's eyes.

Shingo Nasu's loud voice attracted the attention of everyone present.

Everyone stared expectantly at Yoshimura Torataro, hoping for his response.

Yoshimura Torataro pursed his lips, lost in thought... The surroundings were eerily quiet.

Suddenly! A male voice, completely unfamiliar to everyone present, rang out from not far away:

"Ah, I found you! So you were here all along!"

Instantly, the expressions on the faces of Yoshimura Torataro and the others changed.

"Who goes there?!"

Nasu Shingo lowered his center of gravity first, placed his hand on the sword at his waist, and turned to stare intently at the source of the sound.

The others also stood up, picked up their weapons, and looked as if they were facing a formidable enemy.

It's no wonder they were so nervous.

Judging from the voice just now, the speaker was very close to them.

However, none of them had just heard anyone approaching them!

Thinking about it!

"Don't panic, we are allies."

At the same moment he finished speaking, a rustling sound came from the grass not far away—a...doll-like samurai appeared before Yoshimura Torataro and the others.

The reason this person is called a "doll" is because he is very petite, only about 5 feet tall (1.5 meters), and his skin is as fair as that of an unmarried girl.

If you're not good with your eyes, you might actually mistake him for a girl.

Because of her extremely small size, she looks awkward like a child wearing adult clothes.

Nobuyuki stared intently at the man and asked again, word by word:

"Boy, who are you? Tell me your name now!"

The short samurai glanced at Nobuo Nasu.

"I already told you, don't panic, I'm not your enemy. If you want to see evidence..."

In that instant, time seemed to stand still.

In the next instant, time resumed its flow.

At the very moment the "time freeze" was lifted, a blade came to rest steadily in front of Shingo Nasu's throat.

A sharp sound followed immediately afterward: a sword being drawn.

"If I wanted to kill you, you would all be dead by now."

The short samurai gripped his sword with his right hand and held the scabbard with his left, maintaining a stance ready to draw his blade.